Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Racism in NYC

Long story short:

Cab-drivers' Union President tells his membership to PROFILE potential riders.

Why?

...a livery cab driver was shot several times by a man police describe as Hispanic. The suspect was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, which Mateo has said is a red flag.

The private cab driver was fighting for his life after being shot at least four times by a robber who ended up getting less than $100.

The Union President was immediately denounced as a racist.

Uh huh. The Union President is ethnically black and Hispanic.

8 comments:

Display Name said...

What kind of profile is "wearing a hoodie"? You think that's useful info, and supportive of the idea of "profiling" that would prevent cabbies from being robbed?

GOR said...

Well John there may be something to the ‘hoodie’ business.

Now retired, I drive a commercial truck part time. A couple of years ago I was stopped at a light at night on the near south side. A young man was approaching on the opposite sidewalk and crossed the intersection diagonally close to the front of my truck. I was suspicious of him because he never once looked up towards me or the cab of the truck (who walks in front of a truck without looking up to ensure it isn’t moving forward?).

My suspicions were confirmed when, through the side mirror, I saw him checking the handle of the passenger-side door (it was locked). He then made off.

Relating this to one of the other drivers (who is black) later, she immediately asked: “Was he wearing a hoodie?” He wasn’t – and he wasn’t black or Hispanic either… But it made me think – is there a correlation between wearing a hoodie and being up to no good?

TerryN said...

It's a dangerous world out there. Some people, usually those who are insulated from it, want to allow it to become even more dangerous.

Display Name said...

You ignore millions of people wearing hoodies. One robber wears a hoodie, and you're ready to suspect the rest. What about the white kids wearing hoodies?

Steve Cavanaugh said...

It's not "wearing hoodies"; it's wearing the hoods, especially when the weather doesn't call for it. Remember how the banks and other public buildings all required people to take off their hats when entering in the aftermath of 9/11?

A month after moving to my house 13 years ago, I was on my way home, a warm September night, and a young man passed me wearing a hood; I immediately thought "something's not right"; sure enough, I soon heard running steps behind me and a gun was shoved in my face. People who are disguising their appearance tend to do so for reason.
Fortunately, I suffered only the loss of some cash and some jangled nerves. But I'd have the cell phone out calling 911 while running the other way next time.

Display Name said...

Wow, Steve! How many hoodies have you seen since then?

Dad29 said...

A word of caution, Steve....

Don't feed the troll.

Display Name said...

Could lead to cognitive dissonance.